Karai (2014 film series)

YOU'RE NOT ON   NICKTOONS   ANYMORE!

Some TMNT stuff really isn't for little kids.

"We know you're out there! If you don't surrender, we start executing hostages!" — Karai drawing the Turtles out.

Karai
Biographical information
Home	New York City
Weapon of choice	Guns, tanto
Occupation	Leader of the Foot Clan missions Shredder's lieutenant
Affiliation	Foot Clan
Physical description
Species	Human
Gender	Female
Ethnicity	Japanese
Eye color	Brown
Hair color	Black with Red streaks (formerly) Black
Out of universe information
Era(s)	2014 film, 2016 film
First appearance	Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014 film)
Actor	Minae Noji (2014 film) Brittany Ishibashi (2016 film)
Teachers and Students
Teacher(s)	Shredder

Karai is the tertiary antagonist of the 2014 Paramount film "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" and its 2016 sequel Out of the Shadows, but only in a supporting role, and her skills as a fighter are also considerably reduced in this representation. She is the missions leader of the Foot Clan and the Shredder's assistant.

History

Karai is a high ranking female member of the Foot Clan. Karai is the assistant to Shredder and is the one who leads the missions for the Foot Clan. She attempts to draw out the Turtles in the subway but is subsequently knocked into a wall. Karai assists the Shredder and Eric Sacks various times in the film and her final appearance is the during the battle on the mountains, when she is rammed into by Raphael, causing her jeep to flip and smash into a tree.

She returns in the sequel, once again as the Shredder's right-hand woman. She assists him throughout the film, acting as his assistant and bodyguard of sorts. She also works closely with the Shredder's other accomplice Baxter Stockman. After Shredder betrays Stockman, he leaves Karai to guard to the shield. April and Vern show up and fight with Karai until April finally knocks her out. After this it is unknown what happened to her.

Behind the Scenes

Noji confirmed that her character appeared twice in the film's first trailer (released in March 2014), and that Karai is an enemy of the Turtles. Noji, who said she "knew the character backwards and forwards" and described it as her "dream come true," also said she enjoyed the role because she has "always been magnetized to women who are strong women warriors — not necessarily physically, but as a spirit, as a soul, with inner strength." Noji said the casting was "unique in that, because the project was so confidential, none of the actors were given the name of character or the sides ahead of time. However, since I’m a fan of the franchise, I was able to piece things together and quickly knew it was for the role of Karai. I was elated."

It was reported there was a filmed but unused scene of a fight between April O'Neil, Vern Fenwick, Karai, and The Foot in downtown Manhattan that was cut from the finished film. Will Arnett, who played Vernon, said his character "comes out just at the right moment [and] hits Karai with the gurney and knocks her off balance a little bit. Then April kind of finishes her off."

Gallery

• Karai (2014 film series)/Gallery

Notes

• This is the first live-action appearance of the character.
• In the first movie, she did not appear as a ninjitsu warrior like her past incarnations but is dressed in a black military-like uniform like the other foot soldiers and is armed with a gun. But in the sequel, she, like the other foot soldiers, returns in a traditional ninja appearance and is armed with a tanto of some sort.
• Unlike most of her past incarnations, Karai is not the adopted daughter of Shredder or in any way related to him.
• This is one of the few times Karai doesn't redeem herself and help the Turtles in some way.
• Unlike other iterations of the character, this version of Karai has less of a major role, much to the chagrin of TMNT fans and reviewers.
• She's considered the "Tatsu" of the movies as she only takes orders from Shredder, coordinates the Foot and doesn't get to speak much.
• She is shown to be much more coldblooded and dishonorable unlike most of her incarnations.
• Karai was going to have more scenes in the first film. In one such scene, she battles April O'Neil in downtown Manhattan, only for Vern Fenwick to arrive in the nick of time, hit Karai with a gurney, and have April finish her off.
  • However, the concept of April and Vernon fighting Karai is reused in Out of the Shadows.